Never Lost Anything Until I Lost You
by Vazania
Summary: Fang and Max were best friends. And then lovers. But on one fateful day after Fang's senior year of college, they break up, vowing to never see each other again. Yet neither of them can let go of the other. Especially Fang for that day he lost the one girl that meant everything to him. Follow Fang as he retells their story through his memories and thoughts. AH AU. Fax.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story on this site. Constructive ****criticism is welcome. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: An Introduction to the End**

Life has a way of mocking you. Taunting you. Giving you things and snatching them away in the blink of an eye. It haunts you with your past mistakes. Yet, in the end, I guess I understand. Getting things easy never helps you understand the full worth of what you have or had. But its not like the fact that I understand keeps me from being bitter about it.

I'm sitting in a church. Watching the one girl I loved and still love get married to another man. A man who doesn't know her like I do. He doesn't understand her little quirks and habits. I always thought I'd be up there watching her walk down the aisle. Not down here thinking that I was better for her. But who am I to say that when she obviously thinks otherwise? She _is _getting married to someone else.

My half-sister sister, Nudge, who was a bridesmaid, caught my eye, her eyebrow raised in silent questioning. _Are you okay? _ I nod, knowing that even if I wasn't, and I'm not, it wouldn't change anything. Not now, not ever. Nudge narrows her eyes but then smiled slightly as she turned away to talk to another bridesmaid that was standing next to her. Was that Angel?

My attention is immediately diverted from deciding who it is when I hear the collective gasp of awe. Oh god. Max. She looks beautiful walking down the aisle, Ari escorting her. Her dress is simple, reaching to the ground, two thick, ornate straps holding it up. I haven't seen her in years. I chuckle. Max always said that she would wear a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to her wedding. But look at her now. Fully decked out in a dress and make up.

She looks around the church, smiling, nodding, and then sees me. Her eyes widen slightly in surprise, and the smile she had plastered on her face dropped. She then turns to glare at her younger sister Ella, who is standing of to the side in front of the podium as the maid of honor. My heart sinks as I realize the implications of her actions. Of course she didn't invite me herself. She hates me. And after what I did to her; it isn't a surprise.

Max's attention quickly turns up to where her groom to be is standing. She smiles at him. To anyone else, it would've seemed like a normal smile. But I can sense the hesitance in it. I frown. There's a small part of me that is hopeful that she is hesitant because she still loves me. But I shoot the idea down, knowing that that is not true. She herself said she never wanted to see me again.

She stepped up next to the groom, smiling as he took her hand. His name is Dylan I believe. I suck in a breath of air. I can't watch this. I can't watch her become another man's soulmate.

Sliding out of the church pew, while silently thanking whoever made the seating arrangements for giving me an edge seat, I creep out of the church soundlessly.

I take my blazer of and throw it over my shoulder while loosening my tie. Leaning against the church building, I rummaged in my pocket for the pack of cigarettes I had. I wasn't a regular smoker; only smoked when I wanted to relieve stress. Like now. Lighting it, I take a slow drag from it. They're probably saying their vows now. Closing my eyes, I let a peaceful smile grace my lips. No point in moping when there was nothing I could do. I think back to when I was five, the day my whole life turned around. The day that led to all of this.

The day I met the one and only Maximum Ride Martinez.

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**A/N:**

**So I know it's short but it is the intro. The rest of the chapters will definitely be longer than this. :)**

**Review please!**

**~MWD**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I want to thank all the guys who reviewed and followed this story, even though its not necessarily a lot but everything counts for me.**

**I also realized I forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter so here it is:**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing except for the plot line in this ****story. Sad but true :P**

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**Chapter 2: Girls Have Cooties**

_22 years ago. Age 5._

_3rd Person POV_

"No, Mommy! No! I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go." The 5 year old kicked and screamed, shaking his head violently.

His mother pushed back her jet-black hair. "Nicholas, you have to go. That is the end of this discussion. And they have a nice little girl your age that you can play with."

The child, Nicholas, only continued yelling. "But girls have cooties Momma!"

The mother, whose name was Elise, chuckled and then slapped a hand over her mouth, not wanting to encourage the tantrum Nicholas was throwing. "Another boy is coming too Nicholas, his name is James."

Nicholas stopped wailing and looked at his mother. "Really?" He asked hopefully.

Elise had to stop herself from full out laughing at this change in character. "Yes really Nicholas."

"Then lets go." His demeanor changed immediately at the confirmation that there would, in fact, be another boy, and he dragged his mother to the car. Elise picked him up and buckled him in, getting into the car after. She looked through the rearview mirror at the boy, who was now happily bouncing up and down in his car seat. She sighed; he was so much like his father, who at the time was on a business trip. Turning on the ignition, she backed out of the driveway and started on the way of the Martinez home, which was only a few blocks away.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Are we there yet?" Elise was starting to get a headache, in the 5 minutes that they had been in the car; Nicholas had started the classic 'Are we there yet?' game. She finally saw the cream colored house loom into view. _Thank god. _She thought.

"Are we there yet?"

"Yes we are." Elise replied, relieved to put a stop to the boy's persistent chatter.

"Yippee!" He could hardly contain himself as Elise unbuckled the seatbelt. He shot out of the car and jumped up to ring the doorbell. A little girl his age opened the door. Nicholas regarded her with contempt as she did the same.

"Eeew. You're a boy."

"Yeah? Well you're a girl and you have cooties!" It was safe to say that their first encounter wasn't going so well.

"Max! You don't talk to guests like that! I'm sure Nicholas is a fine boy." Max's mother, Valencia, came up behind her, drying her hands on an apron.

At this comment Nicholas puffed out his chest and smirked at Max, who proceeded to roll her eyes. She then turned to her mom.

"When is Iggy gonna get here?" Nicholas looked confused, as did Elise.

"Iggy?" Elise asked, puzzlement evident on her face. Valencia laughed.

"Oh yes, Iggy, he's the boy I told you about, James. Max calls him Iggy because he likes Iguanas apparently, although, I am quite sure there is something else behind that. —Oh, we haven't even invited you in! I'm sorry, my apologies." She ushered them in. "Sit, down, sit, down. Max, why don't you show Nicholas your room." Max wrinkled her nose.

"Do I have to?" She asked, "He thinks I have cooties. And his name is so loooong." Elise smiled at the little girl.

"Well why don't you think of a nickname? Like Nick."

Max shook her head, her blonde hair whipping around her face. "Too boring."

"Well I'm sure you'll think of something, why don't you go play now?" Valencia said, using a no nonsense tone. "Make sure not to wake up the twins. They're napping."

Max sighed and grudgingly agreed. "Fine. Come on." Nicholas followed her upstairs. There was silence and then an excited yelp, followed by an exaggerated shush.

"You have power ranger action figures?!" Valencia and Elise laughed.

"So, how's life treating you here in Mesa?"

"So far, so good. It seems to be a nice community."

"It is. My husband, Jeb, grew up here." Valencia said.

"Really? My husband did too. His name's Roy, does Jeb know him?"

"I think so—" Valencia was cut of by a yell.

"Mommy!" Valencia shot up and turned apologetically to Elise.

"Just a sec, I think Ella and Ari, the twins woke up." She ran upstairs and came back after a few minutes with two three year olds in her arms.

"Oh, there adorable." Valencia smiled at Elise's compliment.

"Thank you. But boy, are they a handful." The two women shared another laugh as the doorbell rang.

"That must be Amy. I'll go get it." Valencia set the twins on the ground and they toddled up to Elise.

"Hi there." Elise cooed, listening to the sounds of greetings being exchanged in the background, "Are you Ella and Ari." The twins nodded energetically.

"I'm Ari!" The boy announced proudly. Ella, not wanting to be out done, did the same.

"I'm Ella!" She grinned up at Elise. She then turned her head, her attention being captured by something else. "Gazzy!" She ran towards the little blonde haired boy that had just entered the room and hugged him.

"Hi!" He chirped. Ella turned to the other boy standing next to Gazzy. He was lanky and had the same blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Iggy!" By this time, Ari had also come over and he and Ella both tried to hug Iggy at once.

"Hiya, Ella and Ari."

"Iggy?" Max had come down with Nicholas in tow.

"Maxie!" Max fake glared at him.

"I told you not to call me Maxie." Iggy shrugged sheepishly and then noticed Nicholas.

"Hi! I'm Iggy! Who are you?"

"I'm Nicholas!" Nicholas replied just as animatedly.

"Cool! Let's go play!" The three 5 year olds dashed upstairs.

"Hi, I'm Elise." Elise introduced herself to Amy.

"Amy. You guys are the people that just moved down the street from our house right? 158 Aspen Drive?"

"Yep, that's us. And who's this?" Elise asked, directing her question at the little girl in Amy's arms.

"Oh this is Angelica. She's 2 months old"

"She looks like an angel."

Amy smiled affectionately at Angelica. Valencia clapped her hands.

"Okay, so I'm going to go get the toddlers settled. Why don't you guys start to set up the plates for dinner?" She turned to Elise, "You are staying for dinner right?"

Elise smiled, "We couldn't."

"Oh come on, I always make too much food anyways."

"Well, at that rate, I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"That's the spirit!" Valencia exclaimed and then went off to go situate the toddlers. Amy set Angelica down in the baby carriage and began to set the plates, Elise helping her with it. There was suddenly a yell from upstairs.

"Mom! Nicholas bit me!" It was Max. She ran downstairs, Nicholas and Iggy following.

"Nicholas! You don't bite people. Its not nice!" She reprimanded the guilty looking five year old.

"But she wouldn't let me have the red power ranger. Everyone knows that the red one is the best."

"Which is why I didn't give it to you!" Max shot back.

"Max! You have to share with guests! Say sorry!" Valencia looked at her sternly.

"Sorry Nicholas." Max replied distastefully.

"You too Nicholas."

Nicholas snorted but replied. "Sorry Max."

"Good now that that's settled, who wants dinner?" Valencia said.

"ME!" They chorused.

The three mothers began to set out the tacos Valencia had made as the kids sat down.

"This is really good." Fang said after taking a bite of the taco.

"I know right?" Iggy bobbed his head up and down, "Max's mom makes the best food on earth!"

"Wait until you try her cookies!" Max added.

"Well," Amy said, "I'll go get the little ones." She left to get Ella, Ari and Gazzy.

Elise and Valencia sat down while waiting for Amy to come back. When she did, Valencia set a halves of tacos in front of each child and then started to serve Elise, Amy and herself.

"This really is good Valencia."

"Thank you Elise, call me Val for short." Elise smiled along with Amy. The kids, finishing their dinners ran back upstairs. The mothers finished eating dinner and helped the toddlers clean up and brought them to the living room so that they could watch them while they talked. After a while Elise and Amy got up.

"We should go." Elise said.

"Yeah, us to Val. Iggy has a soccer game tomorrow."

"Iggy plays soccer? So does Nicholas."

"Really? If you'd like, I could ask the coach if he has any spots left on the team."

"That would be wonderful." Elise turned to Valencia. "We really should get going."

"Okay, I'll call them down." Valencia went to the base of the stairs and called up.

"Kids? Come on down. Iggy and Nichol as have to leave." The kids came downstairs whining. Amy picked up Gazzy and Angel and helped them put their coats on while Elise helped Nicholas. Val quickly dashed into the kitchen and brought two bags of chocolate chip cookies back.

"I almost forgot. No one leaves the Martinez house without cookies!" Val said smiling, while handing the bags to Elise and Amy.

"Thanks for dinner." Elise said, she held up the bag of cookies, "and for the cookies." The two families went out to their respective cars. Valencia waved with Max as they Amy and Elise pulled out of the driveway.

"So Nicholas did you have fun?"

"My name's not Nicholas. Its Fang."

"Fang?" Elise asked confused.

"Yeah, Fang. Iggy made it up when I bit Max's finger." Elise smiled at Nicholas, now dubbed as Fang, through the rearview mirror.

"Well, _Fang,_" Elise, said, testing the new name out, "did you have fun?"

"Yep! Can we go there again! It turns out Max doesn't have cooties. And did you know Iggy likes to make stink bombs? Except they don't work so well cause they don't explode."

Elise smiled at her son's exuberance. But she wouldn't have ever thought that this would be one of the last times she would here him talk so animatedly about something.

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**A/N:**

**So I know I made Fang very talkative and non-emotionless but that'll change next chapter for reasons that I will not disclose as of now cause that would ruin the next chapter.**

**Also, I'll probably post the next chapter on Monday because I'm going to be really busy on the weekend.**

**By the way, here are the ages of everyone in the time period of this chapter****and **present time (aka last chapter):

**Max: 5, 27**

**Fang: 5, 27**

**Iggy: 5, 27**

**Gazzy: 3, 25**

**Ella: 3, 25**

**Ari: 3, 25**

**Nudge: 3, 25 (Even though she isn't in this chapter. She will be in the next."**

**Angel: 2 months, 22**

**Thanks for reading! Review if you can.**

**~MDW**


	3. Just A Quick AN

So you guys have probably noticed that you're reviews aren't on this and you're alerts probably show that this story has been deleted. Sorry about that. My little sister got a hold of my computer and thought it would be a funny joke to delete the story. Which obviously was not. So sorry for the inconvenience but it did anyways allow me to make a minor edit to Chapter 1, concerning who Fang's sister (step-sister) was, which is Nudge, if you reread the chapter. That's pretty much it.

Adios

~MDW


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I forgot to tell you guys that I can't post on weekends. Sorry about that. **

**Thanks for all the reviews and favorites. I really appreciate it.**

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**Chapter 3: Losing a Part of Yourself**

_19 years ago. Age 8._

_3__rd__ Person POV_

Fang ran home from the bus stop, not even pausing to say goodbye to Iggy. His dad was finally coming home from a 2 month long business trip and he couldn't wait to see him.

The excited eight year old ran up to his house and slammed open the door, throwing his backpack haphazardly off to the side along with his sneakers. He ran into the kitchen and saw his father, Roy Walker, in the kitchen with his mother.

He tackled his father into a hug, not noticing the tension that was apparent in the room.

"Dad!" He yelped. Roy smiled at his son.

"Hey there Fang." Everyone had taken to calling Nicholas Fang. It was a name that had a lot of value.

"Did you bring me something from Africa?"

Roy's eyes lost a bit of their smile but Fang was oblivious to it. "Of course I did. I'll show it to you in a bit. But first, I have to talk to you're mother."

"Okay," Fang let go of his father. "I'm going to go to Iggy's house. Max is gonna come too." He ran off, presumably to put on his sneakers.

But in his hurry he never noticed the little girl in the corner of the room. The thing Elise was focused upon during the whole exchange between her husband and son. She now looked at Roy, tears brimming in her eyes, anger evident in the way she set her jaw.

"How could you?"

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

Fang ran into Iggy's backyard.

"Hey, Fang's here!" Max exclaimed, grabbing his hand and dragging him over to the piece of equipment Iggy was working on. "Iggy's going to show us how to make a stink bomb."

Iggy had indeed, as Valencia told Elise when they first met, earned his nickname from more than a simple love for iguanas. No, Iggy had earned his name for his love of explosives; Ignite was what he was first called, which was later shortened to Iggy.

"This is going to be the best stink bomb ever!" The aforementioned boy exclaimed. "It's going to be even worse than one of Gazzy's episodes."

Gazzy, Iggy's younger brother, whose actual name was Aidan, earned his nickname from the digestive issues that he had, which helped him produce certain foul-smelling weapons at the worst of times. At age 6, he had completely harnessed the full power of his, as one could call it, gift, although it was much to the dismay of others around him.

"Cool." Fang said, jumping on the balls of his feet. "You gonna show us?"

"No duh." Iggy connected a few wires. "_Voilà. _Now, if you press this button," He waved around the detonator, "it'll blow up and make the biggest stink on Earth." He turned to his fellow co-conspirators eagerly, "Where do you want to plant it?"

"Mr. Jenson's house." Fang and Max said in unison. Mr. Jenson was a kindly old man who took great interest in the three children's explosive pioneering. He had lost most of his sense of smell during a surgery gone wrong back in the 80's, therefore making him the perfect test subject to see if the stink created by the bomb would pass standards.

They all scampered over to Mr. Jenson's house and knocked on the door, toting the bomb and the detonator along.

Mr. Jenson opened the door, his eyes lighting up when he saw the stink bomb in Iggy's hands. "Another one for me to test huh? Well come on, let's go to the back yard." They went into Mr. Jenson's backyard and Iggy set up the bomb.

"You've got 5 seconds to cover you're nose before this thing blows." He warned Max and Fang. They both nodded and with that, Iggy pressed the button on the detonator. Like he said, there was exactly 5 seconds before the bomb blew up, engulfing them in a sickly yellow smoke.

It dissipated slowly, causing the children to gasp for breath.

"Pheew. That is quite the stink young man." Mr. Jenson exclaimed. Iggy grinned proudly.

"Thanks." He went and picked up the remains of what was left of the bomb. They said bye to Mr. Jenson and walked back to Iggy's house. Fang glanced at the watch his father had given to him that past birthday.

"Shoot, guys, I gotta go. Mom's gonna freak if I'm gone any longer."

"Bye."

"See ya later."

Fang ran across the road and opened the door to his house for the second time that day. But unlike before, he was met by the sound of his mother's agitated yelling.

He entered the living room, realizing what the commotion was about. Elise was shoving a suitcase at Roy, throwing his belongs at him.

"Get the hell away from here you selfish bastard." She threw a picture to the ground, a wedding picture of her and Roy. She hadn't noticed yet that Fang had entered the household.

"Please Elise listen to me. I didn't mean too, I never wanted to hurt you," Roy turned and saw Fang standing stoically in the doorway to the room, "Fang, you believe me right?"

"Don't you dare bring him into this. He doesn't deserve a father that goes on business trips to Africa for months on end to visit his 2nd wife who knows nothing of him and I. A father that decides to dump his illegitimate child on his first wife because the second one died from typhoid." Elise was shaking with anger.

Roy looked back at Fang, his eyes pleading. Fang looked back, his face emotionless, at the man he once called father.

"Fang, please." He pleaded, "I'm so sorry."

Fang, although only eight, knew exactly what his father did. He cheated. And cheaters didn't deserve anything; especially love.

The eight year old made up his mind. He looked his father on the eye and said the three words that anyone dreaded in a situation like this.

"I hate you."

His father froze. And then he straightened up, his eyes downcast, overwhelmed with sadness. He picked up the bags Elise had shoved at him and walked out the door, not uttering a single word. Each step that brought him closer to the door tore at all three of their hearts. But none of them spoke out. And then he was gone. Elise broke down collapsing on the couch, sobbing her eyes out. Fang sat down next to her, holding his mother in his arms, and they sat there, one crying and the other being ripped apart from the inside out. He refused to cry because of his father.

Roy had been Fang's most favorite person in the world. He taught him how to play soccer, took him to baseball games, got him ice cream, and Fang could talk about anything with him. But now that he was gone, Fang felt lost, alone.

There was silence as Elise's sobbing stopped. She wiped her eyes and looked at Fang. "I'm so, so, sorry Nicholas." She embraced him and silent tears began to slip out of his eyes and down his cheeks. Love, he decided, wiping away the stray tears, wasn't real. Because if love actually existed world, then his father would never have cheated on his mother.

This realization was interrupted by a cry from the kitchen.

"Um, Elise?" Elise stood up and looked at who spoke. Her face immediately turned apologetic.

"Oh, I almost forgot about you Monique, I'm so sorry. Fang you need to meet your new sister, Monique." She waved Monique over..

She was a small girl of seven, with mocha colored skin and a mass of black curls.

"Are you going to be my Mom now?" She asked

Elise nodded. "I'm your Mom now."

Fang stood next to his mother.

"Hey."

"Hi, I'm Monique. Is Fang you're real name? Or is it a nickname. I like nicknames, they are so cool!" Nudge trailed off as she realized that Elise and Fang were looking at her in surprise.

"Sorry I talk alot."

"That's okay, my real names Nicholas."

"Cool." Monique grinned.

And he made another decision. He would be like a father to her, no matter what.

Elise looked at her son. There was no emotion in his eyes. It was if he had blocked out the whole world. Looking at him and seeing him smile a bit as Monique talked to him animatedly, Elise dismissed it as shock from the betrayal, convincing herself that he would be back to normal in a matter of a few days.

But she was wrong. He never did become the bubbly, talkative boy he once was after he lost his father. Because when his father walked out, he took a piece of Fang with him.

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**A/N: So that was really angsty at the end. The next chapter will be a little more upbeat hopefully.**

**Review Please!**

**~MDW**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: I realized I messed up Nudge's age in the last chapter so I went back and fixed it. Check it out if you feel like it.**

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**Chapter 4: What Does Love Feel Like?**

_18 years ago. Age 9._

"Fang, wake up." Max called out in a singsong voice. Fang groaned and shielded his eyes as Max pulled back the curtains in his room.

"Fangles. Come on, you promised that we could play soccer today." Fang ignored her, rolling onto his side, burrowing even deeper into the covers.

"Fine, you've driven me to my last resort" Max padded downstairs and the sound of running water was heard. Fang shot up out of his bed and shut himself in his bathroom. Max ran upstairs and laughed when she saw the closed door.

"You know, I didn't even get a glass of water." Fang cracked open the door and glared at her. Max took that moment to throw the bucket of water she had hidden behind her at him.

"I got a bucket." She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle a laugh but no avail. She fell to the ground laughing. Fang threw open the door and Max looked up at him in fright as a smirk spread across his face. She scrambled up and dashed downstairs, Fang behind her.

"Max, Fang calm down!" Elise shouted from her spot at the kitchen counter. They both ignored her. Fang tackled Max and started tickling her.

"That's what you get." He gave a rare smile as Max squirmed around, trying to get out of his trap, laughing uncontrollably.

"Stop… please… can't… breath…" Max forced out between laughs. Fang let go of her and stood up, watching her as she sat up trying to catch her breath. She looked up at him again, her eyes glinting with mischief. Now it was Fang's turn to run.

"I will get you Fang Walker!" Max yelled her battle cry loudly.

"Never!" He dashed outside, pj's and all.

Elise smiled as she saw Max chase him around the house. Fang always seemed to be a bit more like his old self when around Max. He had never fully recovered from the pain of his father leaving them.

"Mommy?" She looked away from the window to see Monique, who had become a true part of the family in no time.

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Can you help me with my homework?" Elise nodded and walked to Monique's room.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

Outside, Max had finally gotten ahold of Fang.

"Ha, whose the loser now huh?"

"Still you." Max looked at him confused. Fang reached down and plucked off an ant, dangling it in front of Max's face.

She shot up screaming. Max hated ants ever since one stung her when she was 4.

"Get them off, get them off." She ran around the yard like a headless chicken. "Fang! Help me!"

"I don't think I will." Fang crossed his arms, smirking and sat on the edge of his pool, Max continued to run around. _Max looks really pretty. _He thought and then mentally slapped himself. _Bad, Fang, bad, Max is your friend._

"Fine, I'll do it myself." She jumped into the water and at the last second, dragged Fang in with her.

"Ahhh!" He yelped.

"You scream like a girl!" Max exclaimed, making fun of him.

"Fang screams like a girl, Fang screams like a girl, Fang screams like a—" Max came up sputtering. Fang had dunked her head under water.

"Oh you're gonna get it Walker." That became the start of an all out splash war.

Fang made sure to push all thoughts of how pretty Max was out of his head.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

Elise walked into the kitchen to get some more coffee. She'd been helping Monique for a while now.

As she poured in some creamer, she realized there was no shouting like usual. She walked outside. There were two lumps on the porch. Max and Fang. She smiled to herself as she looked at the two children, both of them soaking wet, as they dozed, splayed out on the porch. She picked both of them up, tucking them in and went to go call Valencia.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

Fang woke up and saw Max sleeping next to him. Smirking deviously to himself, he crept into the bathroom and filled up the bucket Max had discarded in the morning.

"Good morning." He said to Max as she stirred. She cracked open one eye and Fang dumped the water on her.

Max's eyes shot open, a murderous look on her face. She got up and chased Fang around the room, they both started to throw things at each other. Notebooks, paper, clothes. This went on for a few minutes until both of them were gasping for breath. Fang surveyed the room.

"Shoot." He said. Max nodded. Elise was a stickler for neatness.

"How about we clean it up later and go over to Iggy's house for a bit to play soccer?"

"Okay." Neither of them wanted to clean up the mess at the moment.

They went downstairs and put on their shoes.

"We're going to Iggy's Mom."

"Okay, be back by 4."

They ran out over to Iggy's. Fang rang the doorbell.

"Hi Mrs. Griffiths! Is Iggy home?"

"Of course, come on in."

"Thanks Mrs. Griffiths." They bounded upstairs.

"Iggy. Guess who's here!" Max yelled.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey-" There was a thump. "-Oof, Gazzy get off me." Amy laughed.

"You want to go play soccer?" Asked Fang.

"Sure."

Amy, having heard the whole conversation smiled as she grabbed her keys.

"Come on, I'll take you to the park. I have to pick up Angel from her friends house anyways." Amy said. The kids all nodded. So they all piled into the car and were off.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Hey, you cheated Iggy! No hands!" Gazzy exclaimed.

"Yeah." Max agreed, she was on Gazzy's team too.

"I did not cheat." Iggy argued.

"You did." Said Gazzy.

"Did not."

"Did."

"Did not."

"Did."

"Did not."

"Did."

"Did. Oh shoot!" Gazzy grinned.

"Ha, so penalty on you, we get a free kick."

Max took the ball from Iggy and kicked it into the goal.

"That's not fair, we weren't ready." Iggy whined. Fang nodded in agreement.

Max opened her mouth, prepared to defend her cause but was interrupted by the honk of a cars horn.

"Come on guys, Fang needs to be home by 4." It was Amy. The kids dashed towards the Honda Odyssey.

"Hi guys!" Chirped Angel as they climbed into the car.

"Hi Angel. Did you have fun at you're friends house?" Max asked. Angel nodded.

"We played Barbie." Max wrinkled her nose but said cool anyways.

The rest of the car ride was spent hearing Gazzy and Iggy argue about who cheated in the soccer game while Max and Fang just rolled their eyes.

"Bye Fang!" Max and Iggy chorused as they pulled out of Fang's driveway. Fang waved back in silent goodbye as he walked up to his house.

"So did you guys have fun?" Elise asked.

"Yeah." Fang started up the stairs to his room and then stopped.

"Mom, what does, uh, love, feel like?" Elise smiled.

"You'll know it when you fall in love, now go get changed you're all sweaty."

Elise smiled to herself. She'd been waiting for him to ask that question.

"Eeew Fang! You stink!" Exclaimed Monique from upstairs.

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**A/N: So the next chapter's going to probably be up either tomorrow or Thursday. Hope you liked this one, it was kind of a filler chapter.**

**Review Please! Oh and special thanks to larafares96 for all her reviews, along with all the people that followed and favorited this story. It really brightens my day to know people like this story.**

**~MDW**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey Guys, so, so, so, sorry for the late ****update. I got overwhelmed with homework and tests and this week went haywire.**

**I'm going to be writing in first person from now on because I only use third person when writing from a younger age's perspective. The ending of a chapter will almost always be in third person though.**

**Anyways, Monique finally gets her nickname. Yay! I always type the wrong name when referring to her. Also, this chapter is really sad, but it starts out fun, just a heads up.**

**And before I end this, I also want to say that I might only be able to update once a week, my schedule isn't allowing for anymore..**

**~MDW**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Sleepovers and Loss**

_16 years ago. Age 11._

_Ding Dong. _I rang the doorbell. We, meaning Monique, Iggy, Gazzy, Max, Ella, Ari and Me, were having a sleepover.

Monique rambled on behind me when Max opened the door, her hair in a messy ponytail.

"Hey guys, come on in." She opened the door wider and we walked in to Ari and Ella tumbling down the stairs.

"I-can't-believe-you-threw-away-my-nail-polish!" Ella yelled, shaking Ari by the shoulders.

"Well-it-was-taking-up-too-much-space!" Ari retorted. Ella kicked him in the shin and he grabbed it, jumping up and down.

"Ow! Moooom!"

Valencia rushed into the room and pulled Ella, who was trying to tackle Ari, away.

"Both of you stop. Now apologize!" Valencia said sternly. Max and I had taken seats on the couch, watching the whole thing play out. Monique on the other hand had been cheering Ella on saying things like 'you go girl!' and 'show him whose boss!' but had been silenced by a look from Mrs. Martinez.

"They're ridiculous don't you think?" Max asked. I nodded. But despite this I couldn't help but feel jealous. Our house was so un-fun. Sometimes I felt more at home at Max's house than at my own. And I knew exactly who to blame for that but that person's name had been erased from my memory a long time ago.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Max yelled, shooting up off the couch. A few seconds later, she came into the living room, escorting a very enthusiastic Iggy and Gazzy.

"Hello peasants! Bow down and bask in my godly awesomesauceness!"

I scoffed and Max rolled her eyes.

"Godly awesomesauceness? Yeah right." Monique said sarcastically.

"How dare you insult me?!" He clutched his hands to his heart. "Gazzy! Show then what happens to those who refuse to believe my godliness!"

Gazzy smiled maniacally and rubbed his hands together while we stood there confused. Ella was the first to realize what he was going to do.

"Gazzy! Nooo!" She exclaimed. But it was to late. Gazzy released his 'gift',

filling the room with atomic gas. As the rest of the kids coughed violently while he

looked on, smiling evilly.

Once the gas dissipated, Ari glared at Gazzy and tackled him, doing exactly what we had all wanted to do.

"Wahh!" Valencia rushed into the room for the second time to break apart the wrestling boys.

"Ari! Gazzy! What is it with both of you?!"

"It's his fault." Ari said, pointing at Gazzy.

"No! Its Iggy's!" Gazzy defended.

"It is not!" Iggy exclaimed.

They continued bickering until Mrs. Martinez stopped them.

"Fine, its non of your faults, can I trust you guys to behave if I put on a movie?" We all nodded.

Mrs. Martinez slipped The Avengers into the DVD player and we sat down.

Max plopped down next to me and put her head on my shoulder. I knew it meant nothing to her, but I couldn't help but feel happy. I knew she would never like me the way I liked her. She didn't need anyone. But a guy could dream.

We all sat down and watched the movie. Near the middle, Valencia called us for dinner and we shoveled the food down.

"And so I was like to Danny, 'Girls are so much better than boys because they like are so much more mature.' And he was like, 'Yeah? Well boys are awesomer than girls at sports.' And I was like, 'Awesomer isn't a word so there!' and I like totally owned him." Monique rambled on, with only Ella looking interested as she talked.

The rest of us finished up and put our plates in the sink. Ella began to look annoyed. She nudged Monique but Monique took no notice. She did it again, but no avail, Monique kept talking. I considered slapping a hand over her mouth but Ella beat me to it, apparently fed up with trying to make her shut up nicely.

"You know what? We should call you Nudge. Because no matter how many times I nudge you, you don't shut up." Monique's eyes lit up.

"O me gow caw mwe ha tha by mah nwikhnahm"" Ella looked confused and took her hand of Monique's mouth. Monique took a deep breath and glared at Ella.

"I said, 'Oh my god can we have that be my nickname?'"

"Ooohhh, well I guess we could." They both looked at the rest of us for approval.

"Well, um, okay, _Nudge?_" Max said, Monique's new name coming out as a question. Monique, now officially dubbed as Nudge, nodded rapidly.

"That's perfect." She clapped her hands together.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Okay now that we've gotten that out of the way, can we puhlease, get back to the movie?"

An assortment of shrugs, nods and excited 'Okay!'s (bet you can't guess who that was.) followed the statement and we filed into the living room.

After the movie finished, we all decided to sleep, not having anything better to do. I had just started to doze off when the sound of knocking jolted me out of my almost-slumber. Max woke up too, apparently having heard it also. Everyone else was still out cold.

Mrs. Martinez went and got the door as me and Max watched, curious. A uniformed officer greeted her and asked if they could talk some where privately, after taking a glance at us. They walked into the kitchen and I exchanged a silent look with Max. She nodded and we crept up to the open kitchen door to eavesdrop.

"Jebidah car crashes… drunk driver… now way… to save him… died." We caught tidbits of the conversation, both of our faces growing paler with each word. Max's dad was dead. Dead. As in gone forever.

Max ran upstairs and I pounded up after her. She was curled up on her bed in a fetal position.

I gathered her into my arms and stroked her hair.

"Hey, its going to be okay-shhh, shhh- its okay- we'll get through this together- don't worry, I'll be here for you. Forever." I whispered, trying to make here feel better as I rubbed circles into her back. She sobbed into my shirt, her tears soaking it. We stayed like that the whole night as she cried on and off, each wave of tears worst than the last. But she would get through it. _We _would get through it. Together.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

_3__rd__ Person POV_

The two children, both of them now fatherless, clung to each other. Time would heal both of their wounds, and soon Max would be over her father's death. She would become stronger, more sarcastic. Fang to would find comfort in many things, some good, others bad. But Fang's promise to stay with her forever was futile. He couldn't and he wouldn't. And at first it wasn't so much as a what, but rather than a who.

* * *

**A/N: So that's it. I almost cried during the end. I don't have much time so I'm going to call it a wrap.**

**~MDW**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews guys, I really appreciate it. I literally live off of reviews. :) Anyways, I have a long A/N at the bottom so I'm going to end this and let you guys get on with the story.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

_15 years ago. Age 13._

Her name was Lissa Thornton and when I first saw her, I was blown out of the water.

The year before had been spent helping Max, Ari and Ella get through their father's death along with the rest of the gang and now in junior high, I finally realized what I'd missed out on before in the girl department. Pretty eyes, nice smiles, long legs, the whole lot of attributes that the girls I had once thought were mediocre had some how magically sprung.

Lissa though was the only one for me at the time, with her sparkling green eyes and wavy red hair. She never flaunted her beauty, and never wore clothes that were too revealing. Not as girly as Nudge but girlier than Max, I fell for her on sight, Max seeming dull in comparison to Lissa's utmost beauty. Not to mention that she was kind and had a beautiful voice, one that rivaled Max's but didn't hold the same fullness.

Despite the fact that her voice did not have the grandeur of Max's, I made it my goal that year to ask her out. Employing Iggy as my right hand man, I set out to capture Lissa's heart. And after careful planning, that's exactly what I did.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Hey." I said, tapping Lissa on the shoulder. She was talking to a friend, Tess, I believe her name was.

She turned around, "Oh! Um, hi."

"I wanted to aske you something..." I trailed off.

"Okay, shoot."

"Uh, can we go somewhere private?"

At the mention of private, Tess knowingly nudged Lissa.

"Okay." Lissa gave me a dazzling smile.

"Great." I gave her a half smile and led her to a isolated spot in the hallway.

"So, what did ya' want to ask me."

"Yeah, so," I ran a hand through my hair, "I was wondering, if you'd like to go out with me."

Lissa nodded thoughtfully, "Why do you want to go out with me?"

For a second I was confused, but I quickly scrambled for an answer. "You're beautiful." I blurted out.

Lissa raised an eyebrow.

"And, well you're nice and carefree and you aren't like other girls. In a good way of course." I rushed the last part, noticing her skeptical look.

"But what about Max?"

"What do you mean 'what about Max?'" I was confused again.

"Aren't you guys dating?"

"No, no, me and Max are just best friends." I reassured her. Damn, I didn't think it was possible to be this nervous.

"Are you sure, 'cause you guys spend a lot of time together."

I shook my head. "No, I've just been helping her get through some _stuff._"

"Okay, well, then I guess so. Yes, I will go out with you."

"Awesome!" I actually smiled in my happiness, "I was thinking we could go to a movie and then go get ice cream at Bruster's."

"Great! So I'll see you later?"

"Yeah."

She walked back to Tess, who, from a distance, I could see was bombarding her with questions.

Iggy walked up to me. "Dude, your happy glow is blinding. I'm guessing you got the girl right?"

Normally I would've glared at him, but right at the moment I was on cloud nine.

Iggy shook his head and dragged me to Social Studies, muttering something about how stupid I looked. But I didn't care, I just got the girl of my dreams.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

I'm not going to bore you with the details of the date, but we had a lot of fun. And before you guys ask, yes, I did kiss Lissa good night. She looked really pretty, not really dressing up and keeping things casual. We joked around and teased each other and all in all I feel pretty good about the future of our relationship.

I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

**(A/N: So, because I'm awesome, and because I feel bad about making you guys wait so long, I'm going to add a bit more.)**

_Still the same year._

"Guys! Guess what?" Max said setting her tray down at the lunch table.

"What?" Lissa asked, along with Iggy. Me and Lissa had been dating for 3 months and we were going steady. Both of us were really happy. She'd quickly become part of the group with a love for comebacks that was similar to Max's.

"I got a date to the dance!" Max exclaimed. SOmething coiled in the pit of my stomach. Jealousy? I mentally dismissed the idea. I had Lissa. But Max looked so happy...

"But isn't the dance like 3 weeks away?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah." Max nodded, "But, you know Sam Wards right?"

Lissa nodded, "He's cute. But not as hot as you Fang." She added quickly, smiling at me. I gave her a half smile back.

"Anyways, he asked me saying that he wanted to make sure he got me before all the other guys cam rushing after." She smiled at the thought of being do wanted.

"That's so sweet!" Lissa clapped her hands. "Now me, Nudge, and Ella can help you dress up."

Max's expression immediately became alarmed. "Hell to the no. I am not a human Barbie doll."

"C'mon Max, it won't hurt, I'll make sure Ella and Nudge don't make you too girly."

Max shook her head. "No way."

"I'll make you cookies." Lissa said, trying to appeal to Max's weakness. Max's eyes widened. Lissa's cookies were heaven according to her. The only person that made cookies better was Mrs. Martinez.

"Fine." Max relented. "But you have to make me 2 dozen."

"1 dozen."

"1 and a half."

"Deal." They shook on it.

"So, Lissa, I was, uh thinking about asking Tess. What do you think?" Iggy asked.

"Omigosh! She'd love that. You totally should."

Iggy beamed. "Thanks Lissa, I'm going to ask her after school."

"We could all triple date!" Lissa exclaimed.

Max shrugged her shoulders. "Why not, it would be fun."

But I had a feeling it wouldn't be very fun.

_3rd Person POV:_

Fang's suspicions, sadly were quite correct. But, even so, what would happen on the night of the dance was at a magnitude much larger than what any of them could have ever expected.

Max on the other hand, was ecstatic. She couldn't wait for the dance for she hadn't liked anybody as much as she liked Sam since Fang, whom she'd liked in 4th grade. And even though she would have to dress up, nothing could rain on her parade. Because like Fang she had also found her so called 'man of her dreams.'

Iggy, was also quite happy. Tess had said yes to him and he knew it would be a fabulous night.

But as said before. Fang was right. The night wouldn't be very fun. In fact it would become a night that they wished had never happened.

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**A/N: And on that wonderfully dark note, I shall end this chapter. Don't worry, it won't be _too _serious but I will tell you that it involves Fang punching someone.**

**And I'm sure you all noticed that I took the date idea and the whole 'happy glow' quote from SOF. But I loved that quote and the date seemed to be perfect for a first one so I couldn't resist.**

**Also, as the guest commenter asked, MWD stands for my username, Music. Writing. Dance.**

**Lastly, I'd like to just quickly rant about Lissa. You guys are probably wondering why she isn't the slut that she usually is in other fanfics and the reason is that I don't see what Lissa ever did besides kiss Fang. For all we know, Fang himself could have initiated the kiss.**

**That's all for now!**

**Toodles,**

**~MDW**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: So, so, so, sorry it took so long. I was seriously busy these past two weeks, but its understandable if you guys wanted to hunt me down with pitch forks. Please ****don't. :P Anywho, this chapter is actually 2,000 words long so YAY! **

**And also, I realized I forgot to put disclaimers. Again. SO here's one for the chapters before this and the chapters after because I'll probably forget again.**

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, don't own anything except for the plot, OC's.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: My First Spring Formal was Spent at the Hospital**

_17 years ago. Age 13._

"Nudge! You're going to pull my hair out!" I chuckled at the sound of Max's protesting from upstairs.

"Faaaaang! Save me!"

"No can do Maxie." I shouted up the staircase.

"Urgh! —No! Ella not the mascara! I don't want to get my eyes poked out if you haven't noticed."

Ella and Nudge cackled maniacally. We were at Max's house, getting ready for the dance. Max obviously was getting ready, at the wrath of Ella and Nudge. I on the other hand was downstairs, waiting for everyone else, meaning Lissa, Iggy, Tess and _Sam (Yay!), _to come.

I didn't especially like Sam if you haven't noticed. He was a year older than us, a freshman. He was nice enough, funny, a football player and according to Max, really sweet, but that's exactly what I didn't like about him. There wasn't a single flaw that I could hate and that just made me hate him even more. Which makes no sense but who said I had to justify myself?

_Ding, dong. _I went to get the door and opened it to reveal Iggy, Tess and Lissa. I sucked in a breath as I saw Lissa. She looked gorgeous, wearing a pale green dress that complimented her eyes.

"Heya Fangles!" Iggy said as he stumbled inside in an Iggy-like fashion. Tess rolled her eyes as I glared and walked in after him.

"Hey Fang." Lissa gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey gorgeous." I said, capturing her lips in a kiss as she blushed at my compliment.

"Guys, keep the PDA to a minimum!" Iggy whined. I pulled away from Lissa and glared at Iggy.

"I'm going to see how Nudge and Ella are holding up with Max." Lissa said, smiling slightly as I huffed in annoyance. "Come on Tess, let's go up."

They disappeared upstairs, and Iggy turned to me, a mischievous smile on his face.

"So wassup Fangalator?"

I glared at him. Iggy simply laughed. "Who shoved a stick up you're ass?" I whacked him on the head.

Iggy's expression turned somber. "You really like her don't you?" He asked, motioning upstairs in reference to Lissa.

"Yeah, I do." I said, "A lot."

Iggy smiled. "Just make sure you're making the right choice."

I looked at him, a sliver of confusion evident on my face. But before I could ask him what he meant, the doorbell rang. Looked like Sam was here.

I opened the door and a very chipper looking Sam was on the doorstep.

"Uh… hey." I said, opening the door wider and beckoning him in.

His smile became even wider. "Hey! Is Max ready yet?"

I mentally cringed at his perkiness. Shoot me now. "Uh, not yet."

"Oh. Okay! I'll wait." I shifted uncomfortably.

Iggy laughed at my obvious discomfort, and for the umpteenth time that night, I glared at him. He just laughed even more. But before I could strangle him, I got interrupted, yet again.

"And now, it is time to present, Maximum Ride Martinez in a dress!" Nudge announced, from the top of the stairs.

"Seriously Nudge?" There was laughter and then Max came out, walking down the stairs shyly. My eyes widened slightly in surprise, while Sam's jaw dropped. Iggy on the other hand focused on Tess, who was wearing a light blue dress. But back on the topic of Max.

She was wearing a purple dress that went a little below her knee. Her hair was let down and straightened and you could see the light highlights of make up that accented her face perfectly. To sum it all up, she looked beautiful.

Smirking as she saw Sam's expression, she walked up to him and pushed his jaw closed. "You're gonna catch flies if you keep it open any longer."

Sam shook his head to orient himself. "It's just, you look, awesome."

Max blushed slightly. She smiled and then froze as she looked behind me in horror. I whipped my head around and greeted with the sight of Valencia with a camera. "Time for pictures!" She chirped.

_Oh great._

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

After finally escaping from Max's mom, we all walked to the school. Sam kept on gushing about how pretty Max was. I could tell she was uncomfortable under the constant fawning, but she smiled and laughed like nothing was wrong.

The student council had really gone all out for the dance. Streamers hung everywhere and they had a DJ and raffles going on. And there were kids everywhere. But that's what you get when your junior high and high school are combined. In fact, that's why Sam was able to ask Max to the dance.

Speaking of Max, where was she? I looked around, we had all split up, Iggy and Tess were on the dance floor—oh, there, Max was standing by the punch bowl, drink in hand. I smiled mentally. Of course she'd go for the food first.

"Come on let's dance!" Lissa exclaimed, interrupting my thoughts while trying to pull me to the dance floor.

"Lis, you know I don't dance."

"C'mon, please? For me?" She pouted.

"Fine." I say shaking my head, "I can't say no to you if you look like that."

Lissa grinned and pulled me towards the center of the floor just as the DJ changed it to a slow song. I pulled Lissa towards me; she smiled shyly from the close proximity.

"Did I tell you that you look gorgeous tonight?" Lissa blushed and nodded. God, she was so cute when she blushed.

We swayed in time with the music, in our own little world, as the song came to the end. I dipped down for a kiss but my lips had only brushed hers when a shriek cute through the air.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" I would know that voice anywhere. Max. I turned around, breaking away from Lissa to see what had happened. Lissa followed, grabbing my hand so she wouldn't lose me. A crowd was starting to form and I pushed my way through, trying to see what was going on.

"Oh god." Lissa whispered as she saw the scene. I couldn't have said it any better.

Max walked up to Sam and pushed him. "What the hell are you doing, with _her?_" She pointed to the girl who was hanging of Sam's arm. She looked to be a freshman and if I remembered correctly, she was, as Nudge called, a popular. Now what was her name?

"That _her, _has a name. I'm Maya bitch." Oh yeah, Maya.

"A more suitable name would probably be skank." Max shot back.

"Least I have a boyfriend." She turned to Sam, "Couldn't you have chosen a better girl to be you're decoy girlfriend?" Decoy? Oh god, I am going to kill that guy.

"No, sorry babe." Sam gave her a kiss. By this time Max was furious. She went and tried to punch him but Sam was too quick. He pushed her aside and she stumbled into the punch bowl. It shattered and a piece of glass cut her forehead, and blood started to gush out.

I pushed through the rest of the crowd and crouched down next to Max, Iggy, Tess and Lissa right behind me.

"Max? Max? You okay?" I shook her but it was no use. Seeing red, I stood up.

"Iggy call the hospital." I ordered.

"Fang you are not fighting him."

"I said, call the fucking hospital." Iggy took a step back and grabbed his cellphone, hands shaking as he dialed. I vaguely heard him speak, but my attention was elsewhere.

"You're a fucking douche. You know that?" I growled. Sam smiled cheekily. That bastard. I rolled my sleeves up. Lissa latched on my arm.

"Fang don't do this."

"He hurt Max, let go of me." She let go, picking up on the conviction in my voice and went to help Tess try to stop the bleeding, knowing well enough nothing would make me listen.

I walked up to Sam, who was still grinning, but in a defensive stance. Maya had disappeared into the crowd, a notion confirmed by the faint 'go Sam!'. I gave him a rare grin, but there was malice in my eyes. And then I decked him.

His head snapped back, and there was a satisfying crack. But he looked back up, nose bleeding, and threw a punch of his own. I dodged and tried to punch him again, but he too dodged, kicking me. I tried to move out of the way but he clipped my knee. I hissed as pain rocketed up my leg. He was stronger; being a football player gave him that advantage. But I was more agile, and he wasn't.

I dodged another punch, recovering from his kick. I faked a punch and then kicked him in the groin. He went down; groaning and I punched him repeatedly (not enough to do permanent damage but enough to leave a mark.) until the chaperones that were absent from the scene before pulled me from him. Outside, sirens from the ambulance rang and paramedics rushed in.

I kneeled down next to Max, pushing the hair out of her face as Iggy pointed the paramedics to Max. I picked her up in my arms and took her towards the stretcher. She was still unconscious, but the 'medics said it was just because she hit her head, not blood loss or anything of the likes. But they were still going to take her to the hospital to make sure she didn't have a concussion.

All four of us rode with her in the ambulance in silence. I examined my bruised knuckles as Lissa rubbed comforting circles on my back. Iggy and Tess sat opposite from us, but apart from each other, and not next to one another like I thought they would have.

The ride to the hospital was short; Max was wheeled into a ward and given an MRI. She did not, in fact, have a concussion, but the doctors wanted to monitor her till she woke up.

We spent the rest of the night at the hospital. My mom, and Max and Iggy's moms came along with our siblings. Tess and Lissa's parents showed up too, but only to take them both home. The rest of us stayed, and Max woke up at around 9 pm, and hour after she was knocked out.

"That's not fair." She said pouting when described in detail exactly how I had punched the shit out of Sam. "You didn't let me have any fun."

I chuckled. She was so childish sometimes. But that's why I was friends with her.

"I'm going to go get something from the cafeteria." Iggy said, getting up from his seat.

"Oh, could you get me something too?"

"Sure, Fang? You want anything?" I shook my head and he shrugged.

"Your loss." And then, being the ridiculous guy he is, skipped out.

I turned to Max, the concern I had held in before gracing my face.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"You're asking me if I'm okay when I'm a hospital bed. Isn't that a _bit _redundant even for you Fangles?"

I mock glared at her. "Not, physically, I meant mentally… You just had your boyfriend cheat on you." I winced at the harshness of the statement but Max just laughed it off.

"He was too soft for me anyways, at least before… and then he became a douche and I don't think anyone would want to date a douche except for that Maya girl."

"You sure?"

She smiled. "I'm sure."

And personally that was good enough for me.

_3__rd__ Person POV_

The rest of the year went smoothly by, besides the occasional glare from Sam or Maya.

But then summer came. And as usual, it was a summer filled with _a lot _of drama. Forbidden crushes, unexpected visits, and, the horrors of shopping and makeovers were only some of the few obstacles Max, Fang and Iggy faced.

Yet not all the drama was deemed bad that summer, such as, surprise parties are never bad things. Nor are water gun fights and movie nights.

So drama was to be expected, of the good and bad variety.

* * *

**A/N: So, maybe not my best chapter... but the next one is going to be funnier and (hopefully) the one after that too.**

**I'll try to update by next Wednesday but sadly I can't promise because the end of the school year is always hectic for me.**

**Also, I might be starting another story, and its on a completely different track from this one (espionage and assassins. YAY!) but I still have to plan it out so I might start sometime in the summer.**

**And thats all peoples so BYEEE!**

**~MDW**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: You guys probably hate me. I'll give you a full thing at the bottom but for right now, some crucial pieces of info. Birthdays! I realized I never really told you guys about who was older and who was born when and such so I shall now:**

**Fang: June 12**

**Max: June 23**

**Iggy: April 9- yes he is the oldest**

**Ella and Ari: October 30**

**Gazzy: February 19**

**Nudge: March 16- that's my birthday!**

**Angel: July 31**

**Valencia: March 2**

**Amy: July 20**

**Elise: April 27**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Party supplies, Thank you's and Smurfs?**

_17 years ago. June. Age 14. _

It was about a month after Max's birthday and mine. Lissa and me were still going steady, but she was in Italy this summer. As the middle of July approached, we began to plan for Amy's fortieth birthday. It was going to be a surprise and we all wanted everything to be perfect. But of course, along with perfection comes a few bumps in the road.

"Iggy I said blue streamers not orange!" Max exclaimed.

"Well I'm sorry. Anyways, Mom likes the color orange better than blue."

"But I said—"

"But she likes this color better Max."

"Ughh fine!"

"Chill out Max. You don't always have to be right." Said Ari, smiling at her frustration.

"You guys are so-so-so UGH!" Max stomped out of the room, only to realize that she forgot her phone. She came back in and I smirked lightly in amusement. Of course, Max being Max, She picked up on this and glared. This just made me smirk even more and she gave a sigh of exasperation and went into the kitchen, presumably to watch her mom make the cake because if she helped, she would probably burn the kitchen down.

"So, what should I do?" I asked. I had already finished my job of setting up the collapsible table because, as Max put it, the other guys were skinny runts compared to me. Iggy did not take to that very well, and reaction was hilarious.

"That's what she said." Ari snickered. We ignored him and his infatuation with the punch line.

As if guessing my thoughts, Iggy glared and said, "Well Mr. Macho-Pants, you can go and help Ella and Nudge blow up the balloons."

I shrugged and walked over to Ella and Nudge, both of whom immediately launched into a both instructional and useless monologue.

"Oh, good you're here. We were having such a hard time blowing up the balloons because we don't have arm strength and—"

"And we need you to blow up all the pink balloons because pink goes really well with orange right Nudge?"

"Right so here's the thingy you use to blow the balloons up with. I wonder what it's really called, oh yeah an air pump so here you go."

"Thank you." I said sarcastically. I grabbed the air pump from Nudge and began blowing up the balloons. I ignored their chatter and soon, I was finished. I was going to go see if Mrs. Martinez needed any help with the cake when I was dragged into the bathroom by a very pale hand.

"What the hell Iggy?!" Iggy looked at me sheepishly.

"Sorry dude. I just kind of have an emergency." I cocked my head in intrest and he continued. "I kind of have a crush…" Now before you guys yell that he's dating Tess, they decided before the whole Sam fiasco that they were better off as friends. We clear? Continuing on.

"And…?" I prompted.

"And its Ella"

"Oh shit."

"Uh, yeah. Is it wrong to be crushing on a girl that's two years younger than you? And then theirs Max to think about and I don't know what to do."

"Well, why don't you wait until Ella's like 13 or 14 and ask her out. And before then, if you find a girl you like better, stick with the other girl."

Iggy nodded thoughtfully. "Who knew you could be such a fortune cookie of wisdom?"

I raised an eyebrow as Iggy laughed maniacally at his own joke. I opened the door to find Max standing right outside.

"Well I didn't know you guys rolled _that _way." She said smirking.

"What? Oh, uh, no we were just, uh talking, about, uh stuff." Iggy stuttered, frightened out of his mind that Max had heard.

"Uh huh, talking." She said acting like she didn't believe us. But I saw the mischievous sparkle in her eye and I whacked Iggy. He then proceeded to grumble away into the kitchen.

"Thank you." Max said suddenly.

"Wait what?" I asked.

"I heard the conversation. Personally I'm not so thrilled that Iggy likes Ella but I want to say thanks. For helping him with it and giving him a solution that won't end with him being unable to produce children." She smirked once again and sauntered off into the living room, leaving me to wonder how in the world I had gotten such a crazy best friend.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Oh my god! You guys did this all for me?" Amy exclaimed, looking truly surprised. "This is amazing. Thank you so much."

"Happy birthday Mom." Iggy, Gazzy and Angel chorused.

"It was all the kids' idea. They wanted to make your birthday unforgettable." My mom said.

"Well they certainly did." Amy smiled at all of us.

"Well what are we waiting for? LETS GET CAKE!" Iggy yelled running towards the kitchen like he was leading us to war. We laughed, well they did. I half-smiled.

"Oh Valencia, you shouldn't have." Amy gushed, looking at the huge cake Mrs. Martinez had baked.

"Oh but I did." Valencia smiled. "Come on let's sing."

After a bit of grumbling and a lot of shoving to decide who would start the song, Max was chosen for the job.

"…Happy birthday to you." We finished.

"With a cherry on top and sprinkles too!" Angel exclaimed.

Amy began to cut slices of cake out for each of us.

"Hey! Iggy's piece is bigger than mine." Ella exclaimed, looking aghast at the fact that Iggy had more cake than her.

"Yeah? Well Fang has a bigger piece than all of us." Gazzy exclaimed. They all turned to me, and glared.

"One-two-three charge!" Iggy yelled and I had 4 preteens and 1 teenager tackle me to the ground while Max stood there laughing and saying something about how Iggy was 14 not four. Ah, what a wonderful best friend I have. She doesn't even make a move to help an ambushed guy.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

After we got everyone off me and I got cleaned up (You really didn't think I would remain unscathed when there was cake around did you?), Me, Iggy and Max trudged up to Max's room.

"That… was… hilarious!" Iggy wheezed out while laughing.

"I… know." They both collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get up."

"You were all blue from the icing!" Iggy said, trying to keep himself from laughing again. "You have to admit it was funny." I just glared at him.

"Hey! We should call him Emo Smurf!" Max exclaimed. Iggy lost his personal straightface battle and began laughing again.

"I am not EMO!" I ground out.

"You look the part." Max said laughing.

"You know what I'm gonna go get more cake." I muttered. "I'll be downstairs waiting for when you're maturity levels reach your age."

I have the craziest friends.

* * *

**A/N: So I'm not going to give any useless excuses and I'm going to be frank. For the past month, this fic hasn't necessarily been on the top of my priority list. Sorry. But it is summer, so I will be updating more often so don't worry about me ditching you guys again.**

**Also, that story I was telling you guys about, I in fact actually have quite a few different ideas so vote for which one you like.**

**1) When newly acquainted Max and Fang make a crazy split second decision to keep Max's life from going crazy, they find themselves stuck with consequences even crazier than those they were trying to escape from. Soon the duo find themselves dealing with being trapped with some one you hate and... married life? What the hell have they gotten themselves into? AH. AU.**

**2) Fang: The 20 year old that is simultaneously dealing with the stress of having a huge corporations ****future on his shoulder and having his girlfriend ditch him for another guy. Max: The free-spirited and witty girl that comes from a huge family and has a secret boyfriend she's planning to elope with. When they both meet on a train going to London, the two strike up a relation ship that is nothing short of unconventional and soon embark on a journey that will change both of them for the better.**

**3) Fang and Max were old college classmates. And now, they find themselves working on the same movie set, Max being the stunt director and Fang being the director's son. But the thing is, they aren't necessarily on the best terms, especially since Fang broke Max's best friend's heart. As tension ensues on set, their both trapped in their own game, forced to decide between the movie and the grudges they harbor for the other.**

**So that's all! Thanks for reading.**

**~MDW**

**P.S. Don't forget to check out my one-shot. I'll be putting another one up soon too.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Heyyyy guys! I'll be updating at least once a week from now on. And, in regards to the story contest, results are at the end. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

Max flopped onto the couch, make up covering her face, and along with the mini skirt and sparkly tank top she was wearing, she looked completely un-Max-like

"Those girls are demons." She breathed out, and I chuckled at her obvious frustration. She had been whisked away by the girls for 3 hours. It was now 4 o'clock.

"It's all waterproof, and they hid the make up remover." She said gesturing to her face, "Not to mention the fact that they hid all my clothes. Guess that's what I get for telling _them _that I wanted a new look."

"A new look?" I asked. Max had always been a tomboy. Imagining her dressed like Nudge was almost impossible.

"Yeah, something a bit more girly, you know for the start of high school? Like skinny jeans rather than sweatpants and b-ball shorts. But _not_ like this." She nodded down to the outfit she was wearing now.

"Oh." I said. I wasn't really sure what to say. Max looked fine in the clothes she wore, what was the change for? I mean, I was no expert on fashion, but if you asked me, there was no need for change. Imagining Max like a girl these days was impossible. She'd always been one of the guys to me since Lissa came along.

"Well I'm exhausted." She turned her head towards me. "You know You, Iggy and I haven't spent a lot of time together since you started dating Lissa. Want to have a movie night?" She wasn't bitter about it, if that's what you guys think she was coming across as, just informing me, because she liked Lissa just as much as me.

"Sure." I said and Max rolled her eyes.

"I have no idea how Lis' puts up with your one word responses."

"Hey!" I cried, indignant. "I talk to both of you a lot more than I talk to anyone el-." I was interrupted because _somebody_ cut me off.

"Yep 'cause Fangles is a ladies man and only talks to the ladies." Iggy said walking into my room.

I looked at him, slightly surprised and freaked. "How'd you get into my house?" I asked.

"Well, you could choose option one, that the front door was open because the girls are outside, or two, that I used my lock picking kit."

"Option one." I said. I did not want to have to think about Iggy creeping into my house at night. I mentally shuddered.

"Good choice." He clapped his hands together. "Now what was this, I was hearing about a movie night?"

"Well—"

"Yeah, yeah, Max, I heard your whole conversation. What I meant was whose getting the candy? That's the important part."

I made eye contact with Max. _Do you find that as creepy as I do? _I asked silently. She nodded in agreement then turned to Iggy.

"I guess we all are." She said.

"YAY!" He exclaimed. "Candy shopping here I come!" He then proceeded to push us out the door and outside to the nearby Walgreens so we could buy candy.

"Come on Fangles! Candy doesn't wait for anyone!" He dragged me by the wrist down the road while Max laughed at me. I glared and then realized at the same time she did that she was still wearing the outfit the girls had forced her into. Now it was my turn to laugh as she uncomfortably tugged down the tank top and looked in disgust at her glitter covered hands.

"Come on Maxie! Don't be mad! Get going." She glared at Iggy but he took no notice.

Walgreens… _yippee!_

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Can we get that? And that? And that?" Iggy asked pointing to a variety of different candy.

"We have $12 Iggy. You just pointed to $35 worth of candy." Max said a matter a factly.

"So?" He asked.

"So, it means you can't buy all that candy." I said.

"He speaks!" Iggy exclaimed. "People! The Emo Dude speaks!" He yelled. People just walked past him, shaking their heads. It was a small town, so everyone knew of Iggy's antics.

"5 cents to see the Emo Dude speak." He yelled. Great, now I've become an amusement attraction.

"Iggy! What are you doing?" Max whisper yelled.

"I'm getting," Iggy counted on his fingers, "33 dollars to buy the candy. Don't you like my business-y-ness?"

"No. Now come one, I've gotten all your favorite candy." She dragged him to the cash register to pay, as I walked behind them silently. Suddenly, something tugged on my pant leg. It was a little kid, of about 4.

"Hi." The kids said.

"Um, hi." I replied confused.

"I got him to speak for free!" The kid yelled and ran off. And, there goes a miniature Iggy. I thought to myself and ran to catch up with Max and the aforementioned Iggy.

"Hi." The guy at the register said, flashing a smile at Max. He was obviously a player from the way he held himself. Not to mention he was like 3 years older than us. Something nasty bubbled up in my stomach.

"Um, hi." Max was totally oblivious to his flirting.

"That's a lot of candy." The guy commented.

"We're having a movie night." Max said. I could see she was starting to get impatient, still oblivious though. The feeling passed.

"Cool."

"Yeah, I would invite you but…"

"But what?" The guy flashed her another smile and leaned over, trying to get a look at her cleavage. She was flirting back. Now I was confused and a little more than slightly angry. What the fuck is wrong with me? And her!

"But, hun, I have _a lot _better taste than you think I do." Huh, so she wasn't oblivious. Max grabbed the bag and set the twelve dollars on the counter.

"Oh and keep the change and your eyes to yourself pervert!" She yelled as she smoothly walked through the sliding glass doors, leaving the guy gaping behind her.

"That was priceless." Max exclaimed happily.

"You think? Did you see the look on his face? He though he was soooo smooth."

I smirked as I watched them make total fools out of themselves by trying to imitate his face. Now, if I could just figure out what that weird feeling was, all would be well.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Movie time!" Iggy yelled, cannonballing into the couch. It was 7. After our candy spree, we had all gone to our respective houses to eat dinner. Max finally got out of the tank top and skirt, but she still wasn't able to find the make up remover.

"So, horror or horror?" Max asked, holding up Paranormal Activity and Paranormal Activity 2.

"Horror." I replied. Funny, the word horror doesn't sound like a word after you say it a few times. Hor-ror. Hor-ror. See, it was my first time and it sounds like a bunch of letters smushed together. Now, getting away from my mental ramble.

Max put Paranormal Activity in and hit play as Iggy and I ripped open two boxes of candy.

"Hey, give me some." Max whisper yelled as she sat down between us. I gave her a box of Junior Mints. She happily popped three into her mouth as the movie started.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Next one?" Max asked. We had made our way through parts 1-3 and it was about 11.

"Hit it." Iggy said. None of us wanted to be the first to fall asleep. We had already exhausted our candy supplies and my mom was already asleep, while Nudge was sleeping over at Max's with Ella so we were pretty much the only people awake in the house. Which made it all the more creepier.

Max put the movie on and crawled in between Iggy and me. We were about half way through when I found myself dozing off.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

"Fang? Faaaaang? Wake up you idiot!" A familiar voice said. I cracked open my eyes and found Max…. on top off me? Shit.

I quickly removed my arms from around her waist and she rolled off of me, blushing profusely.

"Um… how long have you been up?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

"20 minutes." I nodded. Can I say embarrassing.

"So, that, uh, that never happened okay?" Last thing I needed was for Lissa to find out and get the wrong idea.

"What never happened?" Max asked innocently. I grinned at her, but something flashed across her eyes, faster than I could decipher. I dismissed it as the light.

I looked at Iggy sleeping form and then at Max. She looked at me deviously.

"Where are the permanent markers in this place?" She asked, even though she probably knew the answer. I smirked, and we dashed upstairs to my room.

~:≈:MDW:≈:~

24 different colors of Sharpie later, Iggy's face became a mess of words and mock make up. Max and I had outlined his lips in hot pink, along with some neon green 'eye shadow' and purple 'blush'. Max then proceeded to write 'I am a self proclaimed idiot' across his forehead while I drew on a multicolored beard and moustache.

"He's beautiful." Max said, admiring out work of art.

"Agreed."

"Want to wake him up?"

"Yeah, lets just clean up the Sharpies and then we can dump water on him."

We hastily threw the Sharpies into a plastic bag and Max went to get a glass of cold water.

"One…Two…Three!" She tipped the cup over and Iggy shot up the minute the water hit his face. Max grabbed a mirror and kept it in front of her face so Iggy could see his reflection.

"What the—YOU GUYS ARE SO DEAD!"

"Good luck!" Max said and dashed left. I ran the opposite way, Iggy close behind, shouting a bunch of expletives.

"What the heck are you guys doing?!" A voice thundered from upstairs. Mom.

We are _so _screwed.

* * *

**A/N: So, the story contest thingy. Well, number one and number 2 were tied. So you guys have to vote again! Yay... ****anywho, here are the summaries just incase you guys forgot. And BTW, both are No Wings fics.**

**1) When newly acquainted Max and Fang make a crazy split second decision to keep Max's life from going crazy, they find themselves stuck with consequences even crazier than those they were trying to escape from. Soon the duo find themselves dealing with being trapped with some one you hate and... married life? Not to mention, Max psychopathic dad is on the loose and wants to kill Fang. What the hell have they gotten themselves into?**

**2) Fang: The 20 year old that is simultaneously dealing with the stress of having a huge corporations ****future on his shoulder and having his girlfriend ditch him for another guy. Max: The free-spirited and witty girl that comes from a huge family and has a secret boyfriend she's planning to elope with. When they both meet on a train going to London, the two strike up a relationship that is nothing short of unconventional and soon embark on a journey that will change both of them for the better. But when the journey comes to an end, they both find themselves dealing with a few problems they didn't plan.**

**Vote and Review!**

**~MDW**


	11. AN

I am soooo sorry, guys. I can't believe I haven't updated in two months. I was restricted from my computer for a few weeks and then I became so busy with other things that I completely neglected updating.

I also want to sort a few things out. I've changed my pen name from Music. Writing. Dance to Vazania, Vaz for short. Second of all, I am putting this story on hiatus. And I'm not sure for how long or if I'll actually finish it because I've realized it's kind of plotless, and I've lost my drive for writing it. If anyone wants to adopt it, it's up for grabs, and I hope that if anyone does, they'll be able to breathe some new life into the story. Third of all, the story contest story, option two, as chosen by you guys will be up soon, as soon as I figure out the title for it. If you guys have any ideas, PM me.

I know a lot of you are probably going to be disappointed, heck I'm disappointed that I'm not finishing this story, but I want to focus my time on my new story because frankly, I like it better, and I hope you guys do too.

I love you guys for all the support you've given me, its been amazing and I hope that you'll read my new story too.

-Vaz


	12. AN 2

Hey guys! So good news!

BlackSkinnyJeans101 is adopting my story. :) According to her she said she'd be putting it up soon, so you guys won't have to wait much longer.

Second of all, I'll be putting up the first chapter of my new story, When We Met, either tonight or tomorrow, after a few minor edits.

So there you go!

-Vaz


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